Our first layout is built on a hollow-core door and a combination of WS risers and “pink foam”.
We used every inch of the door/foam for our layout, so we don’t know where to place our control panel (accessory switches, turnout controls, block control switches).
Question is, “how hollow” is a hollow door? Is there “enough wood” in the door so that we can attach some 1x2’s or something and hang a control panel (and places for the power packs) under the door?
How about attaching terminal blocks to cleanup wiring? Can we screw those into the door, or so we glue them?
Sorta depends on the door. The sides of it will be pretty thick, nio problem screwing into that. As far the “skin” of the door, can bea toss up. My guess is that yes, it would be thick enough to hold a screw, but not by much. of course, the more the better to spread the load…
Or, can always check it too… Test a spot, screw in a peice of wood, and give it a few yanks to see how it holds up. Good luck.
Most hollow core cores have a wood framework around the edges that measures between 2 and 2.5 inches wide all around. The insides of these doors are paper disks cut from heavy cardboard, or are a honeycomb structure made of paper. The doors are sturdy enough to mount a control panel along an edge, but not in the center.
Door skins are usually 1/8 inch thickness. You could use a combination of solid stock and wall mollys (typical use for molly is mounting things on dry wall) in the field part of the door.
I was watching this topic, since we’re facing a similar thing, and was wondering if I could get away with the dry-wall hangars to help distribute the stress on the screws.
Anyone have an opinion of making the control panel “stick out” from the door/layout vs. having it on some sort of “drawer” that slides in & out from under the layout?
Dry-wall hanger is a broad term covering several stratgies. The best mechanical fasteners for this application will be the molly (expansion) bolt and the toggle bolt applied about every 6 inches. An alternative would be an adhesive fastener like Liquid Nail. In both cases, I would be attaching a thicker stock (Plywood or solid stock) on the face of the door skin as the base so I could use heavier fasteners for the heavier control panel.
The location of the control panel will be what works for the area you have the layout in and what appeals to you. It could be on drawer slides below the layout giving you a clear aisle when not in use, be attached as an appendig at the layout level, lifted above on a shelf over hanging the layout, or in a tethered box.
For my hollow core wood door layout I made a separate control panel, and when operating I connect it to the layout/door with a multiconnector plug that I got at Radio Shack. Of course, all my turnouts are manually controlled, so I only have about 10 wires to connect. I sit the control panel on a small portable table when operating. Here’s a shot of what the connection looks like: (the tape flags are wire identification tags)
Yes you can screw terminal strips on the sides or ends of the door, or within a couple of inches of the edge on the sides.
There also should not be a problem with putting a machine screw all the way through the door from the top through to however you plan to support the control panel. This is even easier if you are using foam on top of the door.
I put my control panel on a hinged shelf along one side. I have 2 arms that slide out from underneath the door and put a piece of 1 x 3 to hold the panel up when I’m using it, otheerwise, it hangs along the side. Email me direct and I’ll send photos.
Donn
SHJRR in N scale
I thought about using connectors & cables to have a “detachable” control panel, but I was concerned about the number of conductors/wires. Having 10 turnouts, a number of power blocks and then a few accessory controls…
Which RS connectors did you use? Anyone have suggestions on good high-conductor count bulk connectors? (I’m still leaning towards somesort of control panel that “slides” out from under the layout.
How about four wire pig tails from a trailer supply. Looks like 6 of them would be a good place to start. The white wire could serve as the return wire for multiple blocks or accesories. The black, yellow, and green for the individual items.
